Danny Boyle declines British knighthood

Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle has been rumored to be receiving a British knighthood at the end of the year thanks to his spectacular Opening Ceremony at the London Olympics this summer. But, the Slumdog Millionaire director has reportedly turned down the honor.

According to The Independent, the director will not be known as Sir Danny anytime soon because he hopes to stay “a man of the people.” He was reportedly approached by the UK government’s arts and media honours committee, which sought to honor him for his widely praised artistic Opening Ceremony, but he turned it down.

The reports come after his interview with Radio 4’s Front Row, in which he said, “I'm very proud to be an equal citizen and I think that's what the opening ceremony was actually about,” reports The Telegraph.

During the same interview, Boyle turned down the idea of doing a big-budget James Bond film, even though he had fun doing the sketch that opened the ceremony.

“No, I'm not very good with huge amounts of money. I've learnt that. Don't trust me with huge amounts of money,” he said. “I did a film The Beach (starring Leonardo DiCaprio), which was a proper Hollywood-scale budget, and it didn't suit me. Certain people can handle that and I love watching those kind of films. I'm much better with a small amount of money and making it go a long way.”

Boyle won an Oscar for directing 2008’s Slumdog Millionaire, which went on to win Best Picture. His most recent film is 127 Hours, which was nominated for Best Picture and starred James Franco. He is currently finishing Trance with James McAvoy. It’s expected to hit theaters sometime in 2013.